Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for the Visual Arts at Stanford University, Jan. 19-March 26, 2000 and 3 other museums between Aug. 12, 2000-May 27, 2001.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 144).

Through the lens of photographer John Gutmann, whose work reveals a unique appreciation of American culture in all of its strangeness and vitality, the U.S urban experience of the twentieth century comes to life. The social turbulence underlying life during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s was Captured memorably by Gutmann in America's cars, signs, clothing, and street life, and also the multitude of surprising individuals he portrayed with both irony and respect. This retrospective volume traces Gutmann's career from his artistic training in Germany, through his resolution to leave during Hitler's ascent to power, to his decision to settle in San Francisco. Selected by the artist shortly before his death in 1998, these photos are as much a record of Gutmann's own culture shock as he experienced America as they are a reflection of a culture shocked by its own restless movement. Published in association with the Irish & B. Gerald Cantor Cantor for Visual Arts at Stanford University.